MEMORIAL 



Rev. Henry Jackson, D.D., 

LATE PASTOR OF THE 

CENTRAL BAPTIST CHURCH, 

NEWPORT, R.I. 
COMPILED BY S. W. FIELD. 



BOSTON : 
GOULD AND LINCOLN, 

59 Washington Street. 
1872. 






' +** 






boston : 
printed by rand, avery, & co., 

NO. 3, CORNHILL. 



The Everlasting Memorial. 



" TP and away, like the dew of the morning, 

Soaring from earth to its home in the sun : 
So let me steal away, gently and lovingly, 
Only remembered by what I have done. 

Needs there the praise of the love-written record, 
The name and the epitaph graved on the stone ? 

The things we have lived for, — let them be our story, 
We ourselves but remembered by what we have done. 

Not myself, but the truth that in life I have spoken ; 

Not myself, but the seed that in life I have sown, — 
Shall pass onto ages ; all about me forgotten, 

Save the truth I have spoken, the things I have done. 



Bonar. 



CONTENTS. 



Biographical Sketch 7 

Notices of his Death 14 

Funeral-Services 24 

Resolutions . .32 

Memorial-Services . . . ■ 49 

Extracts of Correspondence . . . .52 

Reminiscences 59 

Mural Tablet 65 



Biographical Sketch. 



Henry Jackson was born in the city of 
Providence, R.I., on the 16th of June, 1798. 
His parents were the Hon. Richard Jackson 
and Mrs. Abby Jackson of that city. His 
father was a citizen of marked integrity and 
prominence, and held various offices of trust 
and responsibility both in the affairs of the city 
and State, and also as a representative in 
Congress. After the necessary preliminary aca- 
demic training, he entered Brown University in 
the year 18 13, where he remained as student 
throughout the collegiate course ; graduating in 
the year 18 17 with honor. While in the Univer- 
sity, his mind became deeply interested in the 
inquiry of religious truth. While in the Sopho- 
more Class, he resolved to make a public profes- 
sion of his Christian faith, and, accordingly, 



8 Rev. Henry Jackson. 

was baptized by the Rev. Dr. Stephen Gano, 
upon the 3d of December, 181 5, and received 
into the fellowship of the First Baptist Church 
of Providence. He entered upon the duties of 
his religious profession with more than usual 
ardor. Nor was his zeal the mere temporary 
enthusiasm of a young convert. He resolved, 
with an earnest spirit of devotion to religious 
duty, to consecrate himself to the cause of 
Christianity. For this purpose, he determined 
to make it the work of his life to preach the 
gospel of Christ. Hence, in the year 18 17, he 
entered the Theological Seminary at Andover, 
Mass. ; and while a student at that Institution, 
not content to receive instruction alone, he en- 
deavored in several ways to forward the cause 
of religion in the surrounding neighborhood. 
The church to which he belonged, perceiving 
and approving his gifts, elected him, in the year 
1820, to the first or subordinate rank of the 
ministry, by constituting him a licentiate. His 
first ministerial labors were in behalf of the 
colored people in the city of Providence. He 
raised funds, and built them a meeting-house. 



Biographical Sketch, 9 

A marked success attended his labors among 
them. Many were converted. 

About two years after this, upon the nth of 
March, 1822, at Providence, he married Miss 
Maria T. Gano, a daughter of his pastor, the 
Rev. Dr. Gano. That venerable and honored 
father in Israel, in thus bestowing his daugh- 
ter, himself performing the marriage-ceremony, 
gave proof both of his devotedness to religion 
in permitting a loved child to bear companion- 
ship in the trials and sacrifices of a clergyman's 
life, and of esteem for the subject of our sketch 
by bestowing upon him his daughter. 

Toward the close of the year in which Mr. 
Jackson was married, upon the 27th of Novem- 
ber, 1822, he entered upon the full duties of the 
ministry by receiving ordination. This event 
was one of particular interest. Having com- 
menced preaching at Charlestown, Mass., upon 
the 6th of October of this year, he received a 
call from that church to become their pastor, 
which he accepted. Accordingly, an ecclesias- 
tical council was convened ; Mr. Jackson was 
examined, in conformity with the usual custom ; 



io Rev. Henry Jackson. 

and it was unanimously and cordially voted that 
he should be set apart to the work of the gos- 
pel ministry. The sermon upon this occasion 
was preached by Dr. Gano, from the text, "There 
was a man sent from God whose name was 
John." The ordaining prayer was offered by the 
Rev. Mr. Sharp ; the charge was delivered by 
Rev. Dr. Baldwin ; the hand of fellowship was 
given by Rev. Dr. Wayland ; and the conclud- 
ing prayer was made by Rev. Mr. Collier. Rev. 
Messrs. Grafton, Nelson, Davis, and Jacobs, also 
took part in the services. After his ordination, 
Mr. Jackson at once entered with zeal upon the 
duties of his pastorate at Charlestown ; and, 
both in the temporal and spiritual affairs of the 
church, his labors were duly rewarded. There 
were eighty-one communicants when he became 
pastor ; but, during his ministry there, three 
hundred and sixty-six additions were made, 
being a net increase of two hundred and fifty- 
eight to the church. Of this number, two hun- 
dred and thirty-seven were received by baptism. 
Besides, during this period, the church-edifice 
was twice enlarged and improved at an aggre- 



Biographical Sketch. 1 1 

gate cost of seven thousand dollars ; and the 
church raised annually more than a thousand 
dollars for benevolent and missionary purposes. 
During his pastorate there, moreover, he was 
instrumental in founding the Charlestown Fe- 
male Seminary, — an institution which has been 
largely blessed in female education, and which 
has afforded gratuitous instruction to many 
young ladies who were preparing themselves 
for the work of teaching or missionary labor. 
Upon the 19th of October, 1836, he resigned 
his pastorate in Charlestown, after a period of 
fourteen years. 

Having received a call to become pastor of 
the North Baptist Church at Hartford, Conn., 
he accepted the invitation; and upon the 18th 
of September, 1836, commenced preaching in 
that place. He was formally installed into the 
pastoral office upon the 14th of December, the 
same year. His ministerial work at Hartford 
was of short duration, being interrupted by 
severe and dangerous illness ; but, during its 
continuance, he labored with zeal and success, 
and two hundred were added to the church, and 



12 Rev. Henry Jackson. 

a hundred and fifty-eight of that number by 
baptism, making a net increase of a hundred 
and ninety additions. He closed his ministerial 
labors in that place upon the 14th of October, 
1838, after a continuance of about two years. 

The next settlement formed by Mr. Jackson 
was at New Bedford, where he became pastor of 
the First Baptist Church. He accepted the 
invitation upon the 4th of November, 1838, and 
upon the 1st of January, 1839, was installed. 
The church numbered two hundred and thirty- 
one when he assumed its oversight. During his 
pastorate, three hundred and ninety-seven were 
added, two hundred and eighty-five of the num- 
ber by baptism ; making three hundred and 
seven the net increase. He also baptized, with- 
in this period, twenty persons who were added 
to the church at Nantucket. Besides his duties 
in the pastoral office in that city, he was en- 
gaged in many plans for promoting the welfare 
of the society and the Redeemer's kingdom. 
Upon the 19th of October, 1845, after a pas- 
torate of seven years, he resigned his office, and 
spent a year in rest. 



1 



Biographical Sketch. 13 

The fourth and last pastorship occupied by 
Dr. Jackson was in Newport, R.I. ; when, upon 
the 17th of January, 1847, he accepted the call 
of the Central Baptist Church, and commenced 
preaching as its first pastor. This church, a 
branch from the Second Baptist Church of this 
city, had been recognized upon the 7th of 
January, with forty-three constituent members. 
From that time to that of his death, a period of 
sixteen years, three hundred and seventy per- 
sons have been admitted to its fellowship, and of 
that number a hundred and seventy by baptism. 
In this charge, as in others, he labored dili- 
gently ; and although within about a year his 
strength had somewhat failed, so that the church 
elected Rev. Mr. Robbins as his colleague, he 
yet devoted till the very last day of his life 
unusual personal attention to all the interests of 
his congregation, even to those of a minute and 
subordinate character. Thus a Christian war- 
rior, with the armor all upon him, he fell upon 
the field in the midst of battle. He was faith- 
ful unto death. He shall receive the crown of 
life. 



H Rev. Henry Jackson, 



NOTICES OF HIS DEATH. 
[From The Christian Secretary, Hartford, Ct.] 

A discourse was preached by Rev. Dr. Turn- 
bull, on sabbath morning last, at the North 
Baptist Church, with special reference to the 
recent sudden death of the Rev. Henry Jackson, 
D.D., the former pastor of that church. The 
sermon was a fitting tribute to the memory of 
our deceased brother, from the text in Rev. xxii. 
14, "Blessed are they that do His command- 
ments, that they may have right to the tree of 
life, and may enter in through the gates into 
the city." The theme of the preacher was the 
blessedness of true religion as illustrated in the 
useful and happy life, the calm and triumphant 
death, of the departed. We give our readers 
substantially that portion of the discourse com- 
prising a biographical sketch of Dr. Jackson. 

Dr. Jackson was born in 1798, in Providence, 
R.I., where also his body is interred. His 
father, the Hon. Richard Jackson, was a promi- 
nent and honored citizen. He entered Brown 



Notices of his Death. 15 

University, and, after a successful course of 
study, graduated in 18 17, and since 1828 has 
been one of the most active and useful of the 
trustees of that institution. While in college, 
he gave himself to Christ and his cause, and 
became a member of the church there, under 
the faithful ministry of the Rev. Dr. Gano, 
whose daughter he subsequently married. 

His conversion was marked and decisive. 
At the age of seventeen, his attention was 
aroused by the terrible disaster at Richmond, 
Va., — the burning of the theatre there, in which 
calamity four hundred persons lost their lives. 
It was this event, too, which produced such an 
impression upon the mind of Spencer H. Cone, 
himself a dramatic performer, and which finally 
induced him to abandon the stage for the work 
of the ministry. Soon after this event, young 
Jackson, with some college acquaintances, went 
to see a play, but was so impressed with a sense 
of his moral danger, that he rose immediately 
and left the place. For ten days or a fortnight, 
he was much distressed by a conviction of his 
sinfulness. He saw that he had been living a 



1 6 Rev. Henry yackson. 

frivolous, superficial life, and that, in the very 
depths of his nature, sin had been lodged as a 
demon of unbelief and selfishness. During this 
time he sought the house of a colored Christian 
woman who was occasionally employed in his 
father's family ; and there, under the influence of 
her teachings, and in answer to her prayers and 
his own, his soul passed out of darkness into 
light. His joy was so great, that the husband 
of this negro mother in Israel " hoped the Lord 
would keep Master Henry in the body." Here 
nature and grace, as you see, were marvellously 
blended ; but this happy glow of the first love, 
after all, was the keynote of all his subsequent 
life, and was often strikingly illustrated in the 
boundless activity and joyousness of his career. 
You remember, when he last preached in this 
pulpit, with what vigor and gladness he expati- 
ated upon the text, " The Word of God is not 
bound ; " and I myself, sitting behind him, was 
actually concerned lest he should leap from the 
pulpit. He only wanted wings to soar beyond 
the visible diurnal sphere. 

After the completion of his theological 



Notices of his Death. 17 

studies, he commenced preaching, Oct. 6, 1822, 
in Charlestown, Mass. He was ordained on the 
27th of the following November. His labors 
there, till Oct. 19, 1836, were crowned with 
success. 

Dr. Jackson was an intimate friend of the 
Rev. Dr. Davis, whose memory is yet fragrant 
among us as a man of singularly genial temper, 
devoted piety, generous disposition, and great 
usefulness in the Church of Christ. Davis and 
Jackson were fit companions and co-workers in 
the " kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ ; " 
for they were as like as two men could possibly 
be in all the leading elements of their character. 
When on his death-bed, Davis cried out with a 
smile of exultation, " I mount ! " Jackson was 
standing near, and, receiving the falling mantle 
of his ascending friend, soon after became his 
successor in the First Baptist Church, Hartford. 
From 1836 to 1839, the brief period of his 
pastorate here, he enjoyed a glorious work of 
grace, and received into the church two hun- 
dred and ninety-two ; the most of them by bap- 
tism. He was installed in New Bedford, Jan. 1, 
2* 



1 8 Rev. Henry Jackson. 

1839 J an d his ministry there lasted till Oct. 19, 
1845. 

In January, 1847, he commenced preaching in 
the Central Baptist Church, Newport, R.I. 
This church, formed under his immediate care, 
was recognized Jan. 7, 1847, with forty-three 
members. 

During the period of his forty years' minis- 
try, ending Nov. 27, 1862, thirteen hundred 
and ninety-six persons were admitted by Dr. 
Jackson to the fellowship of the churches ; eight 
hundred and seventy of them by baptism. 
Eight of the number baptized became ordained 
ministers of the gospel. 

" Last sabbath," says the Rev. Henry Rob- 
bins, his colleague and successor, " our people 
gathered around {he venerable form of their late 
beloved pastor to pay the last tribute of respect 
and affection. Such a scene rarely occurs. 
Few persons have the power to knit hearts so 
closely to them. Our altar was consecrated 
anew by mournful evidences of the singular 
affection with which the shepherd of the flock 
was cherished. The place was a Bochim. 



Notices of his Death. 19 

Surely ' the memory of the just is blessed.' 
My love and respect for the people grew under 
that rain of tears. They appreciated their pas- 
tor at his true worth." 

And thus we may condense his biography 
into those brief, pregnant words of holy writ, 
" He walked with God, and he was not ; for God 
took him." 

On the sabbath evening before his death, he 
handed Mrs. Jackson the following verses, which 
were also sung at his funeral, touchingly pro- 
phetic, as it seems to us, of his sudden transi- 
tion to his present glorious and blessed state. 



" On the banks beyond the stream, 
Where the fields are always green, 
There's no night, but endless day : 
There is where the angels stay. 

Flowers of fadeless beauty there ; 
Trees of life with foliage rare ; 
Fruits the most inviting grow : 
There is where I want to go. 

Soon from earth I'll soar away 
To the realms of endless day ; 
2* 



20 Rev, Henry Jackson, 

Soon I'll join the ransomed throng, 
Sing with them redemption's song : 
Earthly home, adieu, adieu ! 
Earthly friends, farewell to you ; 
Softly breathe your last good-by ; 
Jesus calls me, let me die. 

There's no sorrow, pain, nor fear ; 
There's no parting farewell tear ; 
There's no cloud, no darkness, there : 
All is bright and clear and fair. 
Hark ! I hear the angels sing ; 
Heavenly harpers on the wing 
Throng the air, and bid me rise 
To the music of the skies. 

Pearly gates stand open wide, 
Just beyond death's chilly tide ; 
There my mansion bright I see ; 
There the angels wait for me. 
Hallelujah ! Christ has come ! 
Hallelujah ! I'm just home ! 
Friends and loved ones, weep no more 
Meet me on the other shore." 



Notices of his Death. 21 



[From The Christian Watchman and Reflector.] 

Many of our readers will share our grief at 
the announcement of the sudden death of the 
Rev. Dr. Jackson of Newport. He was one of 
the oldest and best-known patriarchs of our 
denomination in New England, and as widely 
loved as known. A Baptist by strong convic- 
tions, he always maintained the fundamental 
principles of our faith with firmness and tenaci- 
ty ; while his Christian sympathies embraced 
every one who loved the Lord Jesus Christ. He 
served with great diligence and success as pas- 
tor at Charlestown and Hartford and New Bed- 
ford ; and for sixteen years his labors have been 
blessed to the steady growth of a flourishing 
church at Newport. 

During this period, no pastor in the State has 
been so thoroughly identified with Baptist his- 
tory and progress. He was fertile in plans, and 
untiring in efforts, for the common good. He 
aimed to make himself acquainted with every 
pastor in the State, and with the internal con- 



22 Rev. Henry Jackson. 

dition and prospects of every church. Pastors 
and people alike found him a warm sympathizer 
in every trouble, and a wise counsellor. His 
time and purse were freely given to his brethren ; 
and many recall with grateful memories kind 
words and deeds which shed light in a dark 
hour. 

The following minute account of his death is 
taken from the East Greenwich " Pendulum," 
whose editor sat by his side in the cars at the 
time of his death. 

He had spent Monday morning, 2d inst., in 
the city, consulting with a committee on certain 
matters relating to the Portsmouth Grove Hos- 
pital, in which he had taken an extraordinary 
interest from its establishment. At noon he 
took the cars, hoping to settle a church diffi- 
culty of long standing. From this point the 
narrative proceeds : — 

" With his accustomed pleasant smile he sat 
down, remarking that he had hurried to reach 
the cars in season. He immediately recalled the 
word ' hurried,' and said he came in ' haste ; ' that 
his father had told him that hurry signified con- 



Notices of his Death. 23 

fusion, and that haste was the proper word to use. 
On taking his seat, he. took his watch from his 
pocket, noting the time, and stating that he left 
Deacon Read's store eighteen minutes previ- 
ously, and had been down to the steamer ' Perry.' 
We saw nothing about the doctor that indi- 
cated confusion : we saw nothing in his speech 
or breathing but what appeared natural. The 
cars left the depjt at thirty-eight minutes past 
twelve. We engaged in cheerful conversation 
for a few minutes, when he remarked that his 
people in Newport were to have a meeting that 
evening, and that they would feel disappointed in 
not meeting him there, but that there would be 
another meeting on Thursday evening, at which 
he hoped to be present, and that would do as 
well. These were his last words. His head fell 
back, his hands suddenly dropped, he opened his 
eyes with a slight stare, and immediately closed 
them. We spoke to him, but received no reply. 
We spoke louder, but he responded not : he was 
dead. We called for a physician the moment we 
discovered his situation ; and an army surgeon, 
who happened to be in the forward car, was soon 



24 Rev. Henry Jackson. 

at his side. The surgeon laid his hand upon the 
doctor's heart, and pronounced it a case of dis- 
ease of the heart, and that the doctor was beyond 
the reach of human aid. Without a groan or 
struggle he quietly fell asleep, at a quarter to 
one o'clock ; the train having just pased Olney- 
ville." 



FUNERAL-SERVICES. 

The remains of Rev. Dr. Jackson were 
brought from Providence to Newport on Satur- 
day afternoon, accompanied by many of the rela- 
tives and friends of the deceased, and were 
received at the wharf by a committee from the 
church, and taken to his residence on Thames 
Street. 

On Sunday afternoon, at two o'clock, the re- 
mains were taken to the Central Baptist Church, 
over which the deceased was pastor, where funer- 
al-services of a deeply-interesting character were 
performed. Previous to the procession's leaving 
the house, a prayer was offered by the Rev. 



Funeral Services. 25 

Henry E. Robbins, who has for some time past 
officiated as Dr. Jackson's colleague; and the 
pall-bearers consisted of clergymen of different 
denominations in the city. 

The church, which was neatly draped in 
mourning, was very densely packed, nearly all the 
other churches being closed. The exercises 
commenced, soon after the corpse was placed in 
front of the pulpit, by a voluntary from the 
choir, which was followed by a chant, " Thy 
will be done," sung in a most impressive man- 
ner. After an invocation, and reading select 
portions of Scripture, by the Rev. Mr. Malcom, 
the 117th Psalm was sung by the choir, fol- 
lowed by a very able prayer by the Rev. Mr. 
Murdock of Boston, which embraced in the most 
sympathetic and consoling language all the im- 
mediate relatives of the deceased. 

Then followed an address by the Rev. Wil- 
liam Phillips of Providence, occupying some- 
thing over half an hour in the delivery. It was 
a brief historical sketch of his ministerial career, 
and showed how extensive and useful had been 
his labors in the various gospel-fields in which 



26 Rev. Henry yackson. 

he had officiated. His description of his habits, 
peculiarities, benevolent and genial character- 
istics, was perfectly natural. He spoke of him 
just as all who knew him could understand and 
feel was truthful. After he had concluded, an 
invitation was given to the several clergymen 
present to make such remarks as they felt dis- 
posed to make on the occasion. The invitation 
was happily responded to by the Rev. Dr. Balch, 
who testified to the kind and generous impulses 
of the lamented deceased. He was followed by 
the Rev. Prof. Nourse of the Naval Academy, 
who also spoke of his eminently social and Chris- 
tian character. Then the Rev. Mr. Livsey of 
the South Methodist, the Rev. Mr. Adlam 
of the First Baptist, the Rev. Mr. Murdock of 
Boston, the Rev. Mr. Malcom of the Second 
Baptist, and the Rev. H. A. Cooke of Warren, ' 
all spoke of him in glowing, eulogistic terms, 
and of his devotion to the work in which for so 
many years he had been most earnestly engaged. 
After the choir had again sung another se- 
lected and appropriate piece, the lid of the cas- 
ket was removed, and opportunity was offered, 



Funeral Services. 27 

to all who wished, to take a last look of their 
friend or pastor. 

On Monday morning, the remains were re- 
turned to Providence ; and the funeral-services 
were solemnized at eleven o'clock in the First 
Baptist Church. A very large congregation 
assembled ; and the many clergymen and mem- 
bers of other denominations present indicated 
how deeply felt and wide-spread was the loss of 
this Christian minister. After the singing of a 
hymn by the congregation, the services were 
opened with the reading of the Scriptures by the 
Rev. Mr. Rhodes of the Stewart-street Baptist 
Church, and continued with prayer by Rev. Mr. 
Granger of the Fourth Baptist Church. Rev. 
Dr. Caswell of Brown University was intro- 
duced as the first speaker. " It is no ordinary 
time," he said, " which has called us together. 
An honest man, a good Christian, a faithful min- 
ister, and a true patriot, has passed away. This 
large gathering is a spontaneous tribute of the 
public to public virtue and public excellence. 
In early manhood our brother ' put on Christ by 
a good profession before many witnesses ; ' and 



28 Rev. Henry Jackson. 

to the end of his course he held fast the profes- 
sion of his faith. As a man, he was honest, gen- 
erous, confiding, friendly ; as a Christian, he 
was sincere, earnest, and conscientious. Firm 
in his convictions of truth and duty, he never 
wavered in his course. Religion with him was 
the transforming of the inner man, and moulding 
it to the image of Christ. He held his opinions 
firmly ; but no man was so catholic, so liberal to 
all others who differed from him. He held the 
Roger Williams doctrine of religious liberty. 

" But it was as a minister that we may most 
fitly and most profitably turn to his example ; 
and there, for more than forty years, we have 
never known him to swerve from the rectitude 
of his high calling. We have never known him 
as other than a most exemplary, diligent, faith- 
ful, prayerful Christian minister. He was affa- 
ble and kindly to all. He made many friend- 
ships, and created no enmities. In his preach- 
ing, there was one great leading element, and 
that was the cross of Christ. He built his 
hopes upon the cross, and hid himself behind it." 

The speaker alluded in touching terms to the 



Funeral Services. 29 

death of the deceased, so sudden and so unex- 
pected. He said it was as if a voice had reached 
his mortal ear, saying to him, " Well done, good 
and faithful servant, come up hither. Enter thou 
into the joy of thy Lord." He was ready to go. 
His work was well clone ; and his precious exam- 
ple remains for our imitation. 

Bishop Clark followed as the second speaker. 
"Just one week ago," he said, "a few of us were 
in conference with our departed brother under this 
very roof. In less than an hour, when we sepa- 
rated, his spirit had entered eternity. How little 
did those of us who were here then imagine 
that to-day we should come up to these sacred 
courts to say the last words over his remains ! 
Never did he seem more genial, more full of life, 
than he did then. I remember he alluded to a 
period in his life, when, for a time, his life was 
thought to be in peril. I could not but think it 
seemed strange to associate the idea of disease 
or death with such a frame as his. And when 
one of his brethren said to him, What shall be 
done in case one of our number should die 
to-day, I remember the manner in which our 



30 Rev. Henry Jackson. 

departed brother met that question ; but none of 
us dreamed that he would be the victim. And 
what is there to lament in his death? — on an 
errand of mercy, suddenly transported to the 
presence of the angels, and of that Saviour whom 
he served so well on earth." 

The speaker then sketched some of the more 
salient points of his character, — those which, he 
said, none could fail to perceive who had enjoyed 
the rare favor of his acquaintance. He was a 
man of high executive ability. His religion was 
eminently a practical thing; and, whatever he 
undertook, he undertook with his whole heart 
and soul. He never shrank from the most ardu- 
ous or unremitting labors. He was as genial as 
he was practical. You felt a strange drawing 
towards him, as though he had always belonged 
to your own household. He was a catholic 
Christian. Earnestly devoted to the peculiar 
views of his own denomination, he could em- 
brace within his sympathies all who loved the 
Lord Jesus Christ. He was a man whom all 
loved just in the degree that they knew him. 

It was not a strange thing to be called to his 



Funeral Services. 31 

Master ; for he lived with his Master on earth. 
He leaves to his mourning relatives and friends 
the best legacy that a man can leave, — the 
legacy of a good, holy, earnest, useful life ; and 
to-day, with the cherubim and seraphim, and the 
spirits of just men made perfect, he bows before 
the throne of the Lamb, thanking him for the 
grace which redeems him here on earth, and now 
provides for him a home in heaven. 

Rev. Mr. Whiting of the High-street Congre- 
gational Church followed with some remarks 
eulogistic of the deceased. Of an eminent par- 
entage, devoted to the public welfare, he grew 
up with a lively interest in the concerns of his 
fellow-men. Earnest and laborious, he was 
never kfiown to suffer a single public trust to 
languish in his hands ; and he always did with 
his might whatever was put into his hands to do. 
He spoke of his character as a minister and a 
pastor, and spoke words of consolation to the 
group of mourning relatives and friends. 

At the end of the remarks, the concluding 
prayer was made by Rev. Mr. Spaulding of 
Warren, and the benediction pronounced by 



32 Rev. Henry Jackson. 

Rev. Mr. Granger. The congregation then 
passed slowly by the coffin of the deceased to 
take a last look of the venerable and familiar 
features ; after which, the friends and relatives 
entered their carriages, and the long and mourn- 
ful procession made its way to the " North Bury- 
ing Ground," where the remains were interred. 



RESOLUTIONS. 

At a special meeting of the Board of the 
Rhode-Island Baptist State Convention, held 
in Providence, March 6, 1863, the following- 
resolutions were unanimously adopted : — 

Whereas, The Sovereign of the church has 
taken to himself by a sudden and startling provi- 
dence our brother Henry Jackson, D.D., the 
president of the Rhode-Island Baptist State 
Convention and of this Board, and one of the 
oldest pastors in the State : therefore 

Resolved, That the Board mourn his loss as 
the breaking of the strong staff and the beau- 
tiful rod, and the removal of a fellow-laborer, 



Resolutions. 33 

whose place in cheerful and effective service it 
will be hard to fill ; but they cannot forget, even 
in the hour of bitter grief, to return devout 
praise to God for giving them during so many 
years a good and wise man, a sound preacher, a 
prudent counsellor, a lover of peace and of all 
good things ; one who, like Paul, cared for, and 
whose praise was in, all the churches ; and who, 
having served his generation well, has entered 
into rest, leaving behind him the record of a 
useful and blameless life. 

Resolved, That the Board tender their sincere 
sympathy to the bereaved widow and relatives, 
in the loss of one whose manly and guileless 
nature won universal love and confidence in the 
more public relations of life ; and whose kind- 
ness and sympathy and cheerfulness in the family 
circle, the outflow of a genuine piety, enabled 
him to realize in an uncommon degree the ideal 
of a Christian home. 

Resolved, That, in view of the long and faith- 
ful and useful services of our beloved brother 
to the Convention, the Board feel it incumbent 
on them to honor his memory by special funeral- 
services, in which they may officially participate. 



34 Rev. Henry Jackson. 

Second Baptist Church, Newport, R.I. 

Whereas, It has pleased Almighty God, in 
his wise providence, to take from this life in a 
sudden and unexpected manner Rev. Henry 
Jackson, D.D., pastor of the Central Baptist 
Church : therefore 

Resolved, That we, as a church, express our 
heartfelt sympathy and condolence with our 
sister-church in her affliction and bereavement ; 
for we, in our life as a church, have felt the 
heavy stroke of God's hand in the sudden loss 
of the lamented Gammell and the beloved 
Choules, and are therefore more fully able to 
tenderly sympathize with you in this your great 
affliction. 

Resolved, That we not only offer you our trib- 
ute of grief, but that also we offer you, in this 
the hour of your great sorrow and bereavement, 
any aid in our power in conducting the sad 
offices of burial, or any service which we can in 
any manner render. 

Resolved, That our prayers shall ascend that 
this afflicting dispensation may be over-ruled for 



Resolutions, 35 

good by the great Head of the church ; that 
God may sustain you with grace and consola- 
tion ; that, amid all your sorrow, Christ will afford 
you gracious support ; and that the associate 
and family of your late honored and loved pastor 
may also receive, with you, divine consolation. 

Receive, dear brethren, these expressions of 
our sympathy as a token of our desires and 
prayers that God may sustain you, and that all 
of us may at last be received into that kingdom 
where our loved ones in Christ shall be restored 
to us. In behalf of the church, very truly and 
affectionately yours, 

Chas. H. Malcom, Pastor. 

Deacons. — B. Marsh, J. C. Barker, Henry B. 
Hazard, Henry H. Fay, William Messer. 

S. W. Butler, Clerk. 



At The Annual Meeting of the Rhode-Island 
Baptist State Convention, 

The Committee on Obituaries made the fol- 
lowing highly-eulogistic and appreciative report 



36 Rev. Henry Jackson. 

in regard to the death of Rev. Dr. Jackson, the 
former president of the convention. 

The messenger of God, who comes to all, has 
visited this Convention. Henry Jackson is no 
more. Within a brief two months' close of his 
ninth year's presidency of this body, and upon 
duties legitimately connected with its work, he 
suddenly fell asleep. No interests were more 
dear to his heart than those of this Convention. 
And, if the redeemed are present in earthly 
places, his spirit is with us to-day, The Board 
immediately met to express their grief at this 
sad news ; and this body has adopted their min- 
utes, and placed them on record as its own. 

The Convention only expresses anew its 
appreciation of his worth. We bring back the 
hearty grasp and cordial welcome which evinced 
his genial disposition. We recall his earnest 
but cheerful piety, before which no gloom could 
live ; for his very presence was living denial of 
the charge of gloom made against religion. We 
hear him again earnestly and eloquently preach- 
ing Christ to the lost. We see crowds coming 
up during his forty years' ministry in different 



Resolutions. 37 

cities of New England, and testifying to his 
great faithfulness in the ministry of reconcilia- 
tion. 

Nor these alone do we remember His coun- 
try he loved. And he loved Rhode Island and 
its institutions of learning ; and the soul-liberty 
on which it was founded, he intensely loved ; and 
this Convention, which fosters the feebler reli- 
gious interests of the State. It was his delight 
to visit and to counsel these churches, to encour- 
age their ministers ; and in his death he left 
them a generous bequest, which will come into 
the hands of this body, for which, in years to 
come, many a heart will have occasion to bless 
the name of our deceased brother. 

We have lost a Father and a Friend. And as 
we thus recall the positions of trust which he 
has held, and all the estimable qualities of his 
character ; as we look upon him ascending to 
heaven, — every heart of ours exclaims, " My 
Father, my Father, the chariot of Israel, and 
the horsemen thereof." We catch his descend- 
ing mantle. We will bear with us from this 
house the memories of the past, and we will 



38 Rev. Henry yackson. 

seek to make our own the genial kindness, the 
pure patriotism, the deep piety, the earnest 
ministry, and the zeal in the cause of his Mas- 
ter, of Henry Jackson. 



Central Baptist Church, Newport. 

At a meeting of the church, held at the close 
of the service sabbath afternoon, March 15, 
1863, the following preamble and resolutions 
were unanimously adopted : — 

Whereas, It has pleased our heavenly Father, 
in his mysterious providence, to remove from us 
by sudden death our late revered and belo\ r ed 
pastor, Rev. Henry Jackson, D.D. : therefore 

Resolved, That we desire to put on record our 
profound sense of the goodness of God in giving 
to us in the weakness of our infancy so noble a 
man, so sincere and eminent a Christian, so wise 
and faithful a pastor, to be our leader and guide. 
Resolved, That to his liberality, and to his affec- 
tionate and sagacious watch-care and zeal, unre- 
mittingly exercised in our behalf, both in tempo- 
ral and spiritual matters, from the beginning 



Resolutions. 39 

until the day of his lamented death, we owe, 
under God, all that we have attained as a Church 
of Christ 

Resolved, That we tenderly sympathize with 
his devoted wife, our dearly-beloved sister, Mrs. 
Maria T. Jackson, his efficient co-laborer for our 
good, and pray that the God of all grace and con- 
solation will comfort her in an affliction which 
has filled our own homes with mourning, and our 
hearts with sorrow only less poignant than her 
own. 

Resolved, That we tender to his only surviv- 
ing sister, Miss Phebe Jackson, whose interest in 
our welfare, expressed during so long a period in 
words and deeds, we gratefully acknowledge, our 
Christian condolence in her irreparable loss, pray- 
ing that Jesus, of whom she has spoken so often 
and so sweetly to us, may guide her by the skil- 
fulness of his hand to the rest into which our 
beloved pastor and our sainted dead have 
entered, toward which we press our pilgrim way, 
where the redeemed " hunger no more, neither 
thirst any more ; neither shall the sun light on 
them, nor any heat : for the Lamb which is in the 



40 Rev. Henry Jackson. 

midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall 
lead them unto living fountains of waters ; and 
God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." 

Resolved, That the clerk be, and hereby is, 
directed to send copies of the foregoing preamble 
and resolutions to Mrs. Maria T. Jackson and 
Miss Phebe Jackson. 

Resolved, That the clerk be, and hereby is, 
directed to enter the foregoing preamble and 
resolutions upon the church records. 

Geo. W. Swinburn, 

Church Clerk. 



Charlestown, March 15, 1863. 

Dear Sister Maria T. Jackson, — At a meet- 
ing of the First Baptist Church, held on Friday 
evening, March 6, on motion of Brother B. Waldo 
Edmands, it was voted that Deacon George W. 
Little and Brother William Fosdick be chosen 
as a committee to prepare some words expressive 
of our sympathy for our bereaved sister, Maria T. 
Jackson, wife of our former pastor, Rev. Henry 
Jackson, and to place upon our records some- 
thing expressive of the love and reverence -we 



Resolutions, 4 r 

have for his memory, and the grief we feel for 
his loss. The Committee presented the follow- 
ing at a meeting of the church, after service on 
Sunday, March 15, which was accepted by the 
church ; and it was voted that a copy thereof 
be sent by the church to you, and also that the 
same be recorded upon the records of the church, 
as follows : — 

The First Baptist Church, Charlestown, de- 
sire to express their grief in learning of the sud- 
den death of their dear Christian brother and 
beloved former pastor, Rev. Henry Jackson, who 
is so cherished and revered among us ; and to 
express the most tender pity and sympathy in 
this hour of sadness and bereavement for his 
equally loved companion and wife, who was his 
most faithful and devoted helpmeet while with 
us. May "the Lord hear thee, dear sister, in 
the day of trouble ; the God of Jacob defend 
thee, send thee help from the sanctuary, and 
strengthen thee out of Zion" ! We will pray for 
thee, that thy faith fail not, and that the grace 
you have so long trusted may be " sufficient for 
thee " in this hour of trial. 



42 Rev. Henry yackson. 

We review with gratitude the ministrations of 
our dear departed brother during his pastorate 
for more than fourteen years in the early history 
of this church and of his ministry. His genial 
nature, his cheerfttlness, his enterprise, his perse- 
verance, his sympathy, his charity, his devotion^ 
his piety, his success, are ail attested by the 
records of the church and by all who knew him ; 
and many are they zuho bless his memory : and 
still the wave of his influence will flow on, and 
flow evermore. We think, too, of the happy 
spirits of the just, who had gone before him, who 
loved him, and who doubtless waited for and 
welcomed him, when " God took him ;" for he was 
as it were translated, so tenderly and gently was 
he wafted to the " shining shore," where he has 
received the blessed benediction, " Well done, 
good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy 
of thy Lord." May it be ours to emulate bis 
example, that we, too, may receive his reward ! 

In behalf of the First Baptist Church, Charles- 
town, and with the assurance of our deep per- 
sonal sympathy. 

George W. Little, ) 

\ Committee. 
William Fosdick, ) 



Resolutions. 43 



Executive Committee Newton Theological Insti- 
tution. 

March 3, 1863. 

This Committee, having heard with profound 
grief of the death, on the 2d instant, of the Rev. 
Henry Jackson, D.D., of Newport, R.I., are im- 
pelled, both by Christian affection and by official 
duty, to do more than make a record of the 
afflictive event. 

Dr. Jackson was one of the founders of the 
Newton Theological Institution ; was active and 
efficient in procuring from the legislature of 
Massachusetts its act of incorporation, and was 
from its origin (in 1825) a member of its Board 
of Trustees In all the affairs of the Institution 
he invariably manifested a wise and an intelli- 
gent interest ; and he is entitled to be reckoned 
among the foremost of its friends. In its earlier 
history, as Secretary of the Trustees, and in other 
relations, he performed much personal service 
for the promotion of its welfare ; and, as its 
necessities required, he contributed generously 
to its treasury. He took enlarged views of the 



44 Rev. Henry Jackson. 

importance of such an institution, and never 
faltered in its support. 

The committee, in supplying this testimonial, 
are happy in the belief that Dr. Jackson passed 
through his ministry of more than forty years 
with a purity and a fidelity eminently creditable 
to himself, to his sacred profession, and to the 
Christian denomination of which he was both a 
pillar and a light. 

Ordered, That a copy of this minute, signed by 
the Chairman and Secretary, be sent to Mrs. 
Jackson, and also that a copy be communicated 
to the Board of Trustees at its next meeting. 

Baron Stow, Chairman. 
Wm. A. Bow 7 dlear, Secretary. 



Female Mite Society/ Newport. 

In accordance with a vote passed at the 
annual meeting of the Female Mite Society, 
April 15, 1863, we offer the following resolu- 
tions : — 



Resolutions. 45 

Whereas, It has pleased Almighty God to re- 
move from us by death our beloved pastor and 
father in the gospel, Rev. Henry Jackson, D.D., 
to whose untiring labors and fostering care this 
Society chiefly owes its existence and its present 
prosperity ; and while in this sad bereavement 
we feel that a heavy affliction is resting upon us 
as a society and as a church, and knowing full 
well the deep anxiety and watchful care he ever 
felt over the feeble churches of this State, we 
feel that surely a father in Israel has fallen, and 
that his loss to the Rhode-Island Baptist State 
Convention is irreparable : 

Resolved, That this Society tender to our 
bereaved Sister Jackson, and also to our Sister 
Phebe Jackson, their sincere sympathy, praying 
that He who has sustained them thus far in their 
severe affliction may still continue to comfort 
their sorrowing hearts, and prepare them for 
more extended usefulness in this Zion of our 
God. 



46 Rev. Henry Jackson. 

Young Men's Missionary Society of the Central 
Baptist Church, Newport. 

Whereas, God, the Sovereign of the universe, 
has, in his infinite love and all-wise and inscruta- 
ble providence, suddenly removed from us our 
dearly-beloved pastor : therefore 

Resolved, That, as members of this Society, we 
do most humbly acknowledge the hand that has 
stricken us, and submissively exclaim, " Thy 
will, O Lord, be done ! " 

Resolved, That, in the death of him whom we 
all fondly loved, we deeply mourn the loss of a 
pastor beloved, a spiritual father, a counsellor, 
and emphatically a friend. 

Resolved, That we will, by the grace of God, 
emulate his example, following in his footsteps 
so far as he followed Christ ; for when he was 
with us in the earthly tabernacle, like his Master, 
he "went about doing good," rejoicing with 
those who did rejoice, and weeping with those 
who wept : that we will treasure up the words 
of truth which he has so continually and faith- 
fully dispensed unto us so many years, and heed 



Resolutions. 47 

the sound counsel he has so freely and untiringly 
given us as a sympathizing friend. 

Resolved, That we will endeavor to wait before 
the altar, offering up earnest, devout prayer that 
the Holy Spirit may descend, and bless this dis- 
pensation to the spiritual good of the church, 
and to the awakening of sinners, bringing 
them from death to life, from unrest to rest eter- 
nal, to the honor of Him who lived, suffered, and 
died for the redemption of a lost- and ruined 
world. 

Resolved, That we tender to our bereaved 
sister, the widow of our departed and endeared 
pastor, our sincere sympathy, assuring her, as 
Christians, we feel that our loss lies next and 
very near to hers ; that we will ever hold in 
sweet and grateful remembrance the heart which 
ever mingled its warm, sympathetic pulsations 
with ours, and united them as one ; and the hand 
that pointed us to the " Lamb of God which 
taketh away the sin of the world," and which led 
us down into the baptismal grave, will ever be 
held in fond remembrance; that we will, God 
helping us, strive to keep our " Light-house" in 



48 Rev. Henry Jackson. 

view, so as to " walk in the light," till we shall 
have crossed safely " over the river," and entered 
the haven of rest, the port of peace, and united 
with the redeemed of the Lamb : u and so shall 
we ever be with the Lord." 

Resolved, That we tender, also, our sympathy 
to our sister, Miss Phebe Jackson, in this the 
hour of her bereavement, assuring her, too, that 
her sorrows are our sorrows ; and with her we 
will cast our sorrows upon Him who has invited 
us to come unto him, that we might find rest to 
our souls. 

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be 
presented to our sisters, Mrs. Jackson and Miss 
Phebe Jackson. 

In behalf of the Young Men's Missionary 
Society of the Central Baptist Congregation. 

Walter B. Simmons, President. 
Sam'l I. Carr, Secretary. 



Memorial Services. 49 



MEMORIAL SERVICES. 

Memorial Sermon on the Life and Char- 
acter of the Rev. Dr. Henry Jackson. — 
The First Baptist meeting-house was well filled 
last evening upon the occasion of the delivery 
of a discourse before the Baptist State Conven- 
tion, in commemoration of the lamented Dr. 
Jackson, by the Rev. Baron Stow, D.D., of Bos- 
ton. After the introductory devotional exer- 
cises, the reverend gentleman announced as the 
foundation of his discourse the fourth verse of 
the eleventh chapter of Hebrews : " He, being 
dead, yet speaketh." Briefly alluding to the cir- 
cumstances attending the utterance of the text, 
he proceeded to show therefrom that dead men 
speak, and continue to speak for a long period. 
The voice of the good man is never hushed. He 
has a perpetual life in a prolonged influence. 
While living, he speaks by what he is ; after 
death, he speaks by what he was and what he has 
done. Thus men continue vocal, though their 
bodies have mouldered to dust, and their souls 



50 Rev. Henry Jackson. 

long since sought rest in the bosom of the 
Father. 

Deducing thence some pertinent practical les- 
sons, the preacher proceeded to speak of him 
whose eminently Christian character was to be 
the theme of the memorial discourse. He gave 
a sketch of his life appropriate to the occasion, 
claiming for him none of those remarkably salient 
points usually regarded as important in bio- 
graphical history, but the possession of a full, 
rounded character, without any special develop- 
ment to be seen at a distance. His public ser- 
vices were made up of ten thousand various 
labors, without any especially prominent work. 
The genuineness of his conversion was proved 
by forty-eight years of an eminently godly life. 
During his pastoral ministrations, he had re- 
ceived 1,395 persons into the church, 866 of 
whom he baptized himself; he attended 976 
funerals, and officiated at 626 marriages. By 
the indefinite detail of labor involved in these 
statistics of his ministerial life, our departed 
brother, being dead, yet speaketh. He possessed 
rare executive ability, and was an organizer of 



Memorial Services. 5 I 

work for himself and others. The Charleston 
Female Seminary, the Newton Theological Semi- 
nary, and the Northern Baptist Education Socie- 
ty, were cited as institutions that greatly profited 
by his labor ; while in this State many a feeble 
and discouraged church will remember with 
gratitude the hopeful, energetic work of him who 
in practice, and by fraternal recognition, was the 
bishop of the Baptist churches of Rhode Island. 
As a preacher, Dr. Jackson was evangelical, 
spiritual, and faithful ; entering the pulpit not for 
self-exhibition, but for the proclamation of the 
gospel. As a pastor, he had few equals. He 
loved that department of his work : it was suited 
to his tastes and temperament, and he made it 
contribute largely to his success. His pastoral 
visits were made occasions for inquiry into the 
spiritual condition of his parishioners, and the 
presentation of the claims of personal religion. 
The children of his flock knew him, and never 
fled his presence. In church-discipline he was 
mild and gentle, but inflexibly firm. His pastor- 
al successors, and the churches, have spoken of 
his happy influence in this important particular 



52 Rev. Henry Jackson. 

The reverend speaker feelingly alluded to his 
happy domestic relations, to his genial personal 
qualities, that were so suggestive of a cheer- 
ful piety, rendering him buoyant, hopeful, joy- 
ous ; referred to the abundant testimony borne 
in his behalf by his brethren and friends, and 
closed by picturing the departed saint in heaven, 
enjoying a happy re-union with his companions 
who had gone before, and, though dead, yet 
speaking to those who remain, " Be faithful unto 
death, and then come up hither." 



EXTRACTS OF CORRESPONDENCE. 

March 7, 1863. 
My dear Sister, — My heart quivered when I 
saw in the Philadelphia papers a notice of the 
sudden death of your noble husband. On the 
first of this month I received a long letter from 
him, full of precious Christian sentiments, and 
telling me how busy he was with the United-. 
States Hospital on one hand, and the church 
on the other, but that he should soon send a 
parcel for the Historical Society, and sent the 



Extracts of Correspondence. 53 

letter " merely as a harbinger, that you may 
know I am about it." 

But his hand will never send that parcel. That 
Master, in whose blessed service he had spent an 
entire life, was even then about to promote him 
to membership in the "general assembly." 
Yours in the great tie, 

Howard Macolm. 



April 23, 1863. 

Mrs. Dr. Jackson. Dear Madam, — It was 
with unfeigned sorrow I received a few days ago, 
in this distant part of the sea, the intelligence of 
the sudden death of your late beloved and vene- 
rated husband. 

My recollections of Newport, and of my frater- 
nal intercourse with its clergy, will forever remain 
a green spot in the field of the past. Very much 
did they all endear themselves to me ; and I can 
truly say, that the courtesies extended to me, a 
stranger, by your lamented husband, laid me 
under obligations that shall ever be gratefully 
remembered. 

And there is one consideration that especially 



54 Rev. Henry Jackson, 

endeared Dr. Jackson to my heart : he was the 
indefatigable friend of those " who go down to 
the sea in ships." He loved the men of the sea ; 
and it was a sweet privilege to attend, as I often 
did, that delightful monthly meeting in behalf of 
sailors, which was held in his lecture-room, and 
which his zeal and tact rendered so interesting. 

Often, often, has my heart wandered back to 
that meeting, especially since my home has been 
on the restless wave. 

Amid the perils of the storm, or amid the 
tedious hours of the calm, it is sweet -for the 
Christian mariner to know that groups of Chris- 
tians, such as that which gathers in the Central 
Church, are praying for us, and seeking for us 
the grace and protection of Him who said to the 
tempest on Gennesaret, " Peace, be still." 

With sentiments of Christian regard, 
Yours truly, 

D. C. Juukin. 



March 8, 1863. 

Dear Sister Jackson, — Truly it may be said 
of him, " He walked with God, and was not ; for 



Extracts of Correspondence. 55 

God took him," — a translation in which the bit- 
terness of death was unknown, and never to be 
tasted. Few men ever cheered the hearts of 
others with the kindness of their own more than 
he did, or more fully exemplified, in their life and 
conversation, the gospel they were called to 
preach. 

Many hearts share in this bereavement ; and 
many will exclaim, " My father, my father, the 
chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof!" 
Long and heartily have many of us cherished for 
each of you the affectionate regard due to our 
faithful and beloved pastor and wife ; affection- 
ately, during what remains of life to us, shall we 
cherish his memory. 

Yours in affliction and in the hope of the 
gospel, 

Lucy S. Grinnell. 



May ii, 1863. 

Dear Sister Jackson, — Our interview in 
August, when he made his last call at my house, 
and from thence went direct to the depot, has 
been often spoken of by us before his death, and 



56 Rev. Henry Jackson. 

more frequently since. He was instrumental, 
during his ministry among us, of lifting me out 
of a low, depressed state of mind, and guiding my 
feet, as I trust, into better paths than I had ever 
before trodden ; and I have a thousand times 
thanked God that he was permitted to be my 
pastor. 

How frequently do his counsels come up in 
my mind ! It was his love for and devotion to 
the cause of the Master, which made him so 
lovely to Christians, and his genial spirit that 
so endeared him to the community. 

Yours, in Christian bonds of affection, 

Luther C. Hewins. 



March 26, 1863. 

My dear afflicted Friend, — My first remem- 
brances of him go back to the time when he 
accompanied your father in a journey to Hud- 
son, and preached in the morning of the Sabbath. 

His youthful appearance, his appropriate text 
(Gal. i. 22, 23), his experimental method of treat- 
ing it, his deep emotion, and his affecting appeals 
to the young, I cannot forget. 



Extracts of Correspondence, 57 

I had never before seen or heard any one of his 
youthful age in the pulpit ; and how far it may 
have influenced my own early entrance on the 
work of the ministry I know not ; but I have no 
doubt it was an encouragement to me even then. 
How much more his subsequent friendship (since 
1825) encouraged, corrected, aided, and com- 
forted me ! 

Yours in Christ, 

J. Newton Brown. 



March 8, 1863. 

My dear Friend, Mrs. Jackson, — The an- 
nouncement of your sudden bereavement was 
read by me with a very sad interest. Ever since 
18 17 I had numbered your excellent husband 
among my chief friends. After my removal to 
Newton, in 1826, I was always sure to find him 
interested in the service to which he had united 
with other ministers and Christian brethren in 
inviting me ; he was ready to counsel and aid in 
reference to it, and always manifested a truly fra- 
ternal regard for me, and solicitude for my per- 
sonal well-being. The last time I had the happi- 



58 Rev. Henry Jackson. 

ness of an interview with him, at the anniversary 
of the institution, in June, 1862, he showed the 
same undiminished interest in my personal 
affairs. 

His inquiries and remarks on that occasion 
impressed me deeply by their affectionate char- 
acter. And what he manifested to me I doubt 
not corresponded to his habitual spirit towards 
all with whom Divine Providence brought him 
into relations of friendship. 

I am, truly yours, 

H. J. Ripley. 



March 16, 1863. 

Very dear Sister Jackson, — His last visit to 
us was very extraordinary. His whole being 
seemed animated by the atmosphere of heaven : 
the breezes of the celestial city fanned his soul ; 
an unwonted energy seemed to inspire all his 
words and actions. His visits and labors were 
most abundant ; and the whole city, wherever he 
went, seemed moved with the impulse of holy com- 
munion as with a heavenly visitant. Especially 
was it a season of inexpressible joy to his old 



Reminiscences. 5 9 

flock in the First Baptist Church. Not a ripple 
in the smooth stream of reciprocal love. As was 
truly said, and with deep emotion, by our pastor, 
Rev. Dr. Turnbull, " The old pastor of the flock 
has come, and has brought the Master with him ; " 
and all hearts in the large assembly seemed to 
respond a hearty amen. He seemed to be doing 
his last work. As a body, the church will never 
forget his sermons, his exhortations, his prayers, 
and the sweet mutual communion. 

Affectionately, &c, 

J. C. Robins. 



REMINISCENCES. 

Extract from the Annual Sermon before the Narra- 
gansett Association, by Rev. William Fitz. 

As we review the year since our last session, 
w T e cannot forget that one of the most efficient 
members of this body has been removed from us. 
His zeal in the organization and prosperity of 
this association, his affectionate interest in 
whatever promoted its welfare, will link his 
name, as in letters of gold, with its early history. 



60 Rev. Henry yackson. 

He was active without being obtrusive. He 
was loved for his goodness of heart, which shone 
from his cheerful countenance. The pledges 
which he gave to us as he left us a year ago, just 
before the hour of adjournment, he continued to 
fulfil until, with his armor on, he passed from 
the labors of earth to the rewards of heaven. 
We miss him ; and his memory is fragrant among 
us. 



HENRY JACKSON. 

BY REV. SAMUEL W. FIELD. 



It is nearly nine years since this good servant 
of Christ passed suddenly to his home in heaven. 
We received the sad intelligence when expe- 
riencing the hardships of camp-life at Newport 
News, on the James River, immediately opposite 
the scene of conflict between the little " Mon- 
itor" and the rebel ram "Merrimack." It was 
our sad duty to inform several men of our regi- 
ment, who were members of his church, that the 
loved pastor and counsellor had gone from an 
earthly warfare to his heavenly crown. And sad 
news it was to them. He had in his church a 






Reminiscences. 6 1 

band of young men called " The Praying Band." 
Some of them were in our regiment. They did 
not lay aside their religion when they became 
soldiers, but, carrying out the principles in 
which they had been affectionately and faithfully 
instructed, maintained a consistent Christian life 
amid the rough duties and hardships of camp- 
service. It was often my privilege to be with 
them at tent prayer-meetings. A noble Chris- 
tian man and brave soldier was Sergeant Pullen, 
now gone to join his much-loved pastor. 

Henry Jackson — how much there was in his 
person and character to love ! His noble form, 
his open, cordial face, were attractive and win- 
ning : there was nothing about him repulsive. 
His manners were bland, condescending, and 
affectionate. Everybody received a greeting. 
He carried sunshine and joy wherever he went. 
His presence in the street was a social illumina- 
tion. There was light in the gloomiest dwelling 
when he entered. With a warm paternal em- 
brace he gathered children in his arms ; and the 
touch of his hand was a benison. He seemed to 
take everybody into his great heart; and its last 



62 Rev. Henry Jackson. 

throb of love was so constraining, it is no won- 
der it burst It was fit such a man should die 
out of his heart. It was the proper outlet of his 
soul. The gates of it had been swung open so 
often to admit others, and whom he crowded in, 
as did the messengers to the King's supper, by 
heavenly compulsion, it was no wonder the hinges 
were so worn, they snapped so suddenly to let his 
soul out for a wider sphere, and to attain func- 
tions that would not tire or wear out. 

We well remember our impressions of him as 
we first saw him, years ago, surrounded by a 
band of Rhode-Island pastors, all of whom, like 
him, have finished their course. They were all 
unlike each other ; but all, in their peculiar indi- 
vidualism, strong men, and nobly filled the posi- 
tions they each occupied. Though dead, we love 
them. Memory holds in strong, reverential, and 
fraternal embrace the names and characters and 
labors of Bradford, Miner, Granger, Choules, 
and Jackson. They all died in their prime. 
They seemed never more fit for active service 
than when called to put off their armor. They 
were ripe men, rich in experience and by study ; 



Reminiscences. 63 

and that which seemed to be their best qualifi- 
cation for a greater usefulness than ever achieved, 
we see, now, was their meetness for heaven. 
Adorned with fruitfulness, they fell. 

When the soldier in the fulness of his strength, 
and with his armor on, in the fight goes down, 
that hour of his sacrifice is the fittest crowning 
hour : so was it with them. We recall with sad 
pleasure the group in the days of their activity. 
We cannot, we would not, forget them. Many 
hearts still yearn in silence for them ; and their 
influence, intangible and seemingly gone, is with 
us, and appears in the fruits gathered by their 
successors. It is found in the elevation of char- 
acter and enlightenment of minds with whom they 
came in contact. The smile of their faces beams 
on us still, and brightens our way to them ; and 
their living words cheer us as our feet near the 
land they have so long dwelt in. 

The subject of our special notice, the last of 
the group to leave us, had a transition swifter 
than Elijah's chariot. Surrounded by his 
brethren, yet they had not time to say, " My 
father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen 



64 Rev. Henry Jackson. 

thereof." In a moment, he passed from mortal 
sight, in an invisible chariot, that left no track to 
mortal vision ; but the golden gates of heaven 
opened for its occupant, and loving, kindred 
spirits welcomed him. With no fierce wrestlings 
with disease or torturing pain, as those who pre- 
ceded him were called to experience, he bounded 
to bis throne and to life eternal. The closing 
part of his will is characteristic of the man. 

" I have hereunto set my hand and seal, look- 
ing for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom 
I confess before men, and in whom I trust for 
eternal life ; believing his blood, and his blood 
alone, can atone for sin, and that in heaven its 
saving merits will be sung by the church re- 
deemed, in the song of Moses and the Lamb, 
forever : and to him I commit the keeping of my 
soul in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator, 
holding myself obedient to good government and 
wholesome law and order, until my change come. 
Amen." 



Mural Tablet. 65 



MURAL TABLET 

In the Central Baptist Church, Newport. 

Eey. Henry Jackson, D.D., 

Born June 16, 1798, 

Fell asleep March 2, IS 63, 

Aged 65 years. 

A good man, a wise counsellor, a faithful 
friend, a judicious and affectionate pastor, an 
earnest preacher of the gospel of reconciliation 
through the blood of a crucified Saviour, a living 
exemplification of the power of the sublime 
truths which he taught to clear the heart, and 
inspire the soul with a lofty devotion to duty 
toward God and men. 

Ordained Nov. 27, 1822. He was pastor, suc- 
cessively, of churches in Charlestown, Mass., 
Hartford, Conn., New Bedford, Mass., and New- 
port, R.I. 

He was often called to posts of responsibility 
in the various educational and missionary organ- 
izations of the denomination with which he was 
connected, and died in the presidency of the 

6* 



66 Rev. Henry Jackson. 

Rhode-Island Baptist State Convention, for 
whose success he labored with untiring zeal. 

The church he served from the date of their 
organization (in 1847) till the day of his lamented 
death have caused this tablet to be placed as an 
expression of gratitude to God for this gift to 
them of one who so wisely and tenderly watched 
over their material and spiritual interests, and, 
with the divine blessing, led them from a feeble 
infancy to a vigorous maturity. Mourning as 
children for a venerated and beloved father, they 
consecrate this marble to his memory. 

" And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto 
me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the 
Lord from henceforth : Yea, saith the Spirit, that 
they may rest from their labors ; and their works 
do follow them." — Rev. xiv. 13. 



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